The days of sharing intimate moments with your partner via a screen may be drawing to a close.
Apple’s upcoming operating system, iOS 26, includes a controversial update to FaceTime, the company’s video chat app.
When FaceTime detects nudity or even someone starting to undress, it will automatically turn off video and audio.
As part of the new feature, users will have the chance to restart video and audio with a tap of the screen.
But the interruption could prove a turn-off for people in long-distance relationships who rely on the software to get steamy.
And many commentators on social media were left unimpressed.
One Reddit user said: ‘Long distance couples in shambles, while another said: ‘wtf. All my calls end in undressing.’
Another person joked: ‘Well that’s one way to end a work meeting early.’
With iOS 26, Apple is blocking FaceTime calls if it detects nudity or someone starting to undress (file photo)
Apple’s update to its FaceTime software was first noticed by X user @iDeviceHelpus and reported by Apple fan site 9to5mac.
As screenshots reveal, when FaceTime detects someone undressing, it will show a warning message to them.
‘Audio and video are paused because you may be showing something sensitive,’ the message reads.
It continues: ‘If you feel uncomfortable, you should end the call.’
It then gives users two options – ‘Resume Audio and Video’ or ‘End Call’.
When Apple announced iOS 26 last month, it detailed the feature, called Communication Safety, in a blog post.
It said: ‘Communication Safety expands to intervene when nudity is detected in FaceTime video calls, and to blur out nudity in Shared Albums in Photos.’
But it was widely interpreted as only a tool for child accounts that would help protect minors when talking to adults online.
As screenshots reveal, when FaceTime detects someone undressing, it will show a warning message to them
Reportedly, the tool is on when two adults are video chatting as well – although it’s unclear whether this is intentional or a glitch.
MailOnline has contacted Apple for more information, although the firm is usually tight-lipped on upcoming features.
Apple does stress, however, that it ‘never store[s] the content of FaceTime calls’ in the cloud – so people don’t have to worry about Apple staff snooping on them; instead, nudity is detected by machine learning, which is a type of AI.
The firm says: ‘Communication Safety uses on-device machine learning to analyze photo and video attachments and determine if a photo or video appears to contain nudity.
‘Because the photos and videos are analyzed on your child’s device, Apple doesn’t receive an indication that nudity was detected and doesn’t get access to the photos or videos as a result.’
It’s worth bearing in mind that the feature is part of iOS 26, so the majority of users won’t have it yet.
Revealed to great fanfare last month, iOS 26 is currently available as part of a ‘beta test’ – where a select bunch of people use it early to uncover any bugs or issues before its general release.
iOS 26 will officially become widely available this autumn as a free software update for iPhone 11 and later, likely sometime in September.
In June, Apple revealed a new operating system for its iPhones called iOS 26 – including features such as ‘Liquid Glass’
The biggest change coming with iOS 26 is a redesign called Liquid Glass, which gives apps and other aspects of the user interface a translucent, glass-like design.
Liquid Glass will ‘bring greater focus to content and deliver a new level of vitality across controls, navigation, app icons, widgets, and more’, the tech giant said.
However, Liquid Glass has not been met with enthusiasm by Apple’s dedicated fans, with one calling it ‘the ugliest thing Apple has ever done’.
Another person said on social media that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs ‘would’ve fired everyone at Apple’ for coming up with it.
iOS 26 also introduces custom chat backgrounds in the Messages app, a new Games app, and a tool called Live Translation which translates calls in real time.
